AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry said Tuesday he did not personally make a telephone call to urge Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg to step down in the wake of her drunken-driving arrest, and that he did not initiate any potential deal in the matter.

A grand jury is looking into whether Perry improperly used his authority by threatening to veto state funding for the public corruption unit overseen by Lehmberg unless she stepped down after her April 2013 arrest. Perry later carried through on that threat, suggesting the public had lost confidence in her.

Texans for Public Justice, which tracks money in politics, filed a complaint with prosecutors last year. It suggested that the threat was an illegal effort by Perry to use his power to force an action by Lehmberg.

Perry's staff has said he legally exercised his veto power.

Sources have told the Express-News that even after Perry vetoed the money, his aides offered her some type of continued employment in the district attorney's office if she resigned her elected job.

Perry strode away from reporters after speaking at an induction ceremony for the Texas Women's Hall of Fame at the Texas Capitol, but he responded briefly to questions when he stopped to wait for an elevator.

"We're just going to let the record stand. We've pretty much addressed that, so we'll let it play out its course," Perry said when asked about the grand jury proceeding.